If only this golfer had read the advice in this article, he wouldn't be lying on the floor like that.
(GETTY IMAGES)
Many higher-handicap golfers think their games need a total overhaul for them to reach the promised land of being a consistent 80s-shooter. Often, that task seems so monumental they discourage themselves from trying before they even start, which is a shame, because whether they realize it or not, most golfers are closer to single-digits than they realize.
A few years ago, our partners at GOLFTEC analyzed data gathered on more than 90 million golf swings, in what they touted as the largest swing study ever recorded. What they found were a number of correlations between low handicappers and higher ones. You can book your own a lesson at GOLFTEC right here, but in the meantime, here’s a few interesting tidbits higher handicappers should keep in mind the next time they go play…
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Your backswing should be a turn, but GOLFTEC’s study found that for many higher handicaps, it’s more of a sway. And that’s a problem: higher-handicaps sway about 1.5 inches more away from the ball on the backswing than lower-handicappers, and as a result they never quite make it all the way back to the ball on impact. It’s a recipe for inconsistent contact.
While it’s important to turn — not sway — your lower body on the backswing, the same is true with your upper body. But when you do, there is one thought you should have along the way: Turn your left shoulder down toward the ball. GOLFTEC found that higher handicappers tend to turn their shoulders too level (above, left), which can cause them to come over-the-top on the downswing. Lower handicappers turn their left shoulder down more (above, right), which gives them more tilt and improves their quality of contact.
3. They don’t have a consistent miss
Golf is a game of misses, so you should probably know yours! You don’t need to hit every shot perfectly, but playing well becomes especially challenging when you have no idea where your bad shots are going. GOLFTEC found that golfers who didn’t boast a common miss (aka, a slice) had an average score of 103.
4. They leave the clubface open
One thing high handicappers do a lot, though? They leave the clubface open — almost five degrees more, on average, than lower-handicappers. It contributes to a slice, and another miss that’s common among high handicaps…
5. They miss greens short
When you leave the clubface open, you put more sidespin on the ball. You also add more loft, both of which make the ball fly shorter. Combine this with higher-handicappers’ tendency to under-club themselves, and it all results in lots of short misses. So the next time you’re on the course and find yourself debating whether to hit a 6- or 7-iron, the correct answer is: Hit your 5-iron.
Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees all the brand’s service journalism spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.
An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University and in 2017 was named News Media Alliance’s “Rising Star.” His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.
Golf Questions You’re Afraid to Ask: Why do most beginner golfers slice the ball?
So, you recently picked up golf. Congrats, and welcome! If you’re struggling, don’t get discouraged. Golf has a high barrier to entry to reach the point where you feel like you’re actually playing. You can run around a soccer field or a basketball court and feel like you are part of the action but topping golf balls or shanking them into the trees isn’t all that fun.
You’ve worked past that stage and are now getting the ball airborne. There’s only one problem — you’re slicing every shot. The ball starts where you aim, but then curves right, right, even further right. Fret not! You’re in the same position as so many golfers when they start out. (And, for that matter, many golfers who’ve been at it for years.)
Question is…why?
Why do most beginners slice the ball?
In most sports, our instincts help us learn the basics. Not so much with the golf swing.
Beginners struggle because “their instincts betray them,” Top 100 Teacher Brady Riggs told me the other day. “It all starts with the grip. Most amateurs left-hand grip is in too weak of a position at set up and it leads inherently to an open club face. That’s where all the trouble begins.”
It’s true that you don’t want to white-knuckle-death-grip the club, but too loose isn’t the answer, either.
“This has been going on as long as golf has been played,” Riggs said. “People will put their left hand on the club, and it feels like if they turn it a little more under, a little more to the left, that’ll help the clubface and the ball go left, but it really does the exact opposite.”
This is the beginning of our instincts failing us.
“They’re trying to go about it logically and they try to fix it logically,” Riggs said.
“They’re trying to go about it logically and they try to fix it logically,” Riggs said.
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30 Second Fix: Fix Your Slice
Top 100 teacher Boyd Summerhays demonstrates a drill using alignment rods that can help fix your slice for good.
Why is a slice so hard to shake?
What beginners don’t understand is what they think is the solution actually makes their slice even worse. Beginners try to swing more to the left to make the ball go left, which only makes the ball spin even further right.
Riggs said that you may notice your slice might be worse with your driver because you are swinging with more speed and less loft. The same swing mistakes are probably happening with every club — driver just accentuates the error.
If you are struggling with a slice, you can take solace in knowing you are not alone.
“It’s basically the teaching pros’ moneymaker — it pays the rent,” Riggs said. “People just don’t have a clue how to fix their slice. Everything they try makes it worse and they end up having to go see somebody who can help them.”
Almost every beginner struggles with this at some point. The swing is something that most of us just don’t naturally get. It takes instruction and lots of practice.
If you’re regularly hitting a slice, does that mean your natural ball flight is left to right, and you should be trying to hit a tight fade?
Not exactly.
“I think most people need to slay the dragon,” Riggs said. “It’s hard to go from a big, huge slice to a controllable fade. Usually you’ve got to get somebody to do something significant to get them to really improve [their slice].”
Basically, he said, it’s better to get the ball going in the opposite direction rather than tightening the slice.
There is a simple way to get your hands in a better position.
“If [you] have a glove on, there’s a seam on your glove running between your thumb and your index finger on the top of the glove as you look down,” Riggs said. “That seam should run down the top of the handle or grip. If it’s coming down the front side or the left side of the grip, then the hand is turned too far to the left.”
This easy trick can help you get your ball flight heading back toward the middle of the fairway. And it’s simple to check before every shot.
If you’re on the range, there are some more tips and tools to help squash your slice.
Riggs said that you can use an alignment stick parallel left to your target. If that line is 12 o’clock in your mind, “[you] need to feel as if they’re swinging toward 2 o’clock.”
You can even use an alignment stick and point it toward 2 o’clock to help you get your path on a better line.
“It may not get all the way to two o’clock, but it will be a lot less to 10 o’clock than it was,” Riggs said.
How do I take it to the course?
Now you’re out on the course and after thinking you got the slice under control on the range. But out of nowhere it is reappearing and your whole round is falling apart. How can you salvage your swing, and your score?
Riggs has three simple steps to quickly help mitigate your slice in the heat of battle.
Get stronger with the grip;
Put the ball back slightly in the stance, not a lot, maybe one balls width;
Make a concerted effort to swing in the very direction you’re scared of it going.
That last step sounds scary. Trying to swing right when all you want is for the ball to go left can feel almost impossible. But as Riggs says, “What do you have to lose?”
Another golf ball, maybe, but not much else.
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How To Hit Every Shot: Starter Swing
In the first episode of How to Hit Every Shot, instructor Erika Larkin takes us through five steps for swinging a golf club.
Fore right! Here's why novice golfers tend to slice the ball.
GETTY IMAGES
So, you recently picked up golf. Congrats, and welcome! If you’re struggling, don’t get discouraged. Golf has a high barrier to entry to reach the point where you feel like you’re actually playing. You can run around a soccer field or a basketball court and feel like you are part of the action but topping golf balls or shanking them into the trees isn’t all that fun.
You’ve worked past that stage and are now getting the ball airborne. There’s only one problem — you’re slicing every shot. The ball starts where you aim, but then curves right, right, even further right. Fret not! You’re in the same position as so many golfers when they start out. (And, for that matter, many golfers who’ve been at it for years.)
Question is…why?
Why do most beginners slice the ball?
In most sports, our instincts help us learn the basics. Not so much with the golf swing.
Beginners struggle because “their instincts betray them,” Top 100 Teacher Brady Riggs told me the other day. “It all starts with the grip. Most amateurs left-hand grip is in too weak of a position at set up and it leads inherently to an open club face. That’s where all the trouble begins.”
It’s true that you don’t want to white-knuckle-death-grip the club, but too loose isn’t the answer, either.
“This has been going on as long as golf has been played,” Riggs said. “People will put their left hand on the club, and it feels like if they turn it a little more under, a little more to the left, that’ll help the clubface and the ball go left, but it really does the exact opposite.”
This is the beginning of our instincts failing us.
“They’re trying to go about it logically and they try to fix it logically,” Riggs said.
Current Time 0:34
/
Duration 0:34
Loaded: 100.00%
30 Second Fix: Fix Your Slice
Top 100 teacher Boyd Summerhays demonstrates a drill using alignment rods that can help fix your slice for good.
Why is a slice so hard to shake?
What beginners don’t understand is what they think is the solution actually makes their slice even worse. Beginners try to swing more to the left to make the ball go left, which only makes the ball spin even further right.
Riggs said that you may notice your slice might be worse with your driver because you are swinging with more speed and less loft. The same swing mistakes are probably happening with every club — driver just accentuates the error.
If you are struggling with a slice, you can take solace in knowing you are not alone.
“It’s basically the teaching pros’ moneymaker — it pays the rent,” Riggs said. “People just don’t have a clue how to fix their slice. Everything they try makes it worse and they end up having to go see somebody who can help them.”
Almost every beginner struggles with this at some point. The swing is something that most of us just don’t naturally get. It takes instruction and lots of practice.
If you’re regularly hitting a slice, does that mean your natural ball flight is left to right, and you should be trying to hit a tight fade?
Not exactly.
“I think most people need to slay the dragon,” Riggs said. “It’s hard to go from a big, huge slice to a controllable fade. Usually you’ve got to get somebody to do something significant to get them to really improve [their slice].”
Basically, he said, it’s better to get the ball going in the opposite direction rather than tightening the slice.
There is a simple way to get your hands in a better position.
“If [you] have a glove on, there’s a seam on your glove running between your thumb and your index finger on the top of the glove as you look down,” Riggs said. “That seam should run down the top of the handle or grip. If it’s coming down the front side or the left side of the grip, then the hand is turned too far to the left.”
This easy trick can help you get your ball flight heading back toward the middle of the fairway. And it’s simple to check before every shot.
If you’re on the range, there are some more tips and tools to help squash your slice.
Riggs said that you can use an alignment stick parallel left to your target. If that line is 12 o’clock in your mind, “[you] need to feel as if they’re swinging toward 2 o’clock.”
You can even use an alignment stick and point it toward 2 o’clock to help you get your path on a better line.
“It may not get all the way to two o’clock, but it will be a lot less to 10 o’clock than it was,” Riggs said.
How do I take it to the course?
Now you’re out on the course and after thinking you got the slice under control on the range. But out of nowhere it is reappearing and your whole round is falling apart. How can you salvage your swing, and your score?
Riggs has three simple steps to quickly help mitigate your slice in the heat of battle.
Get stronger with the grip;
Put the ball back slightly in the stance, not a lot, maybe one balls width;
Make a concerted effort to swing in the very direction you’re scared of it going.
That last step sounds scary. Trying to swing right when all you want is for the ball to go left can feel almost impossible. But as Riggs says, “What do you have to lose?”
Another golf ball, maybe, but not much else.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 4:09
Loaded: 3.95%
How To Hit Every Shot: Starter Swing
In the first episode of How to Hit Every Shot, instructor Erika Larkin takes us through five steps for swinging a golf club.
